Chapter 67: The Edge of Intent

-Please, Don’t Worry Too Much”

At the police station, Joo Ahyoung was greeted by a barrage of harsh insults from the convenience store owner.

“You ungrateful brat! I gave you a job so a parentless kid like you could survive,

fed you expired lunchboxes to keep you going, and this is how you repay me?!”

“It’s a misunderstanding, boss. I didn’t know anything!”

“Didn’t know anything?! Then who else would bring magical waste to the awakened ones? It has to be you, the guilty party!”

His accusations escalated as he waved a finger in her face, veins bulging with anger.

Unable to contain his fury, he began hurling pens, phones, and whatever else he could grab.

“Ahh!”

“Officer Lee, what are you doing? Break it up already!”

“Hey, hey! Why are you throwing stuff around here like a maniac? Mr. Jeon Byung-tae, if you break anything in this station, you’ll pay for it all!”

“Let me go! Let me go! I’ll kill her and end myself right here!”

“Damn, why is this guy so strong? Get the cuffs on him. Don’t let him loose, or it’ll be chaos!”

It wasn’t until four officers wrestled the raging store owner to the ground that he was subdued and hauled off to a holding cell.

“We apologize for the commotion. The owner, Mr. Jeon Byung-tae, is vehemently denying any involvement and is clearly unstable.”

“I-I understand…”

“Ms. Joo Ahyoung, do you recognize these box cases?”

“Oh? These? The boss told me to store them in the backroom last month.”

“Do you know what’s inside them?”

“No, I just remember him saying it was a holiday gift set and that there wasn’t any other safe place to store it.”

“And this box?”

“That one… another part-timer mentioned the boss picked it up somewhere.”

“Magical waste was found in this box.”

“What?! Does that mean dangerous materials have been at the convenience store this whole time?”

Her shock was short-lived as a thought struck her. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Can I text a friend to confirm something real quick?”

“If it doesn’t take too long, go ahead.”

Ah-young quickly texted a fellow part-timer who worked different shifts.

Joo Ahyoung: Mina, do you remember that brown box the boss asked us to store? When did he bring it in?

Choi Mina: Hmm… about four months ago?

Four months.

The timing didn’t add up.

‘I met my sister three months ago.’

Even if the Myung-ho Guild had manipulated the convenience store owner to target her and her sister,

the magical waste should not have been brought into the store more than three months ago.

If it dated back four months, it couldn’t have been the guild’s doing but rather something the owner had orchestrated himself.

Though she felt betrayed, there was no denying they might be barking up the wrong tree.

“Detective Kang, what kind of investigator lets someone fiddle with their phone during an interrogation?”

“Apologies. I didn’t think a quick text would be an issue.”

“This is why discipline is eroding! Awakened ones treat us like their personal lackeys because we let them walk all over us! Miss, turn off that phone now!”

“Just one last urgent text, please! Just a moment!”

“Do you not understand the situation? Turn it off!”

Defeated, Ah-young reluctantly folded her phone, close to tears.

She desperately wanted to text her sister:

The Myung-ho Guild isn’t involved in this. Don’t make the first move.

But with her phone confiscated and the detectives adamant, she could only hope her sister wouldn’t do anything drastic.

‘Please, let her not cause trouble before I can send a message.’

By the time the interrogation was over, five hours had passed more than enough time for Hae Eung Eung to create a major incident.

At the Myung-ho Branch of the Awakened Association,

After submitting the test data that So Kyung-seok had retrieved, it took just ten minutes for the Awakened Registration Certificate to be issued.

[Is it true that awakened ones can kill people without consequence?]

A chill ran down So Kyung-seok’s arm.

Unlike the usual questions from new awakened individuals such as whether the rumored 30% movie ticket discount or free public transit was real Hae Eung Eung’s inquiry was alarmingly grim.

‘Figures… She’s from a villain organization, and now she’s thrilled at the idea of legally killing people.’

The thought of putting a weapon into the hands of a potential serial killer weighed heavily on his mind.

“Killing civilians recklessly isn’t allowed. If you do, you’ll face penalties starting with a 30-day license suspension, which can increase depending on the severity. In extreme cases, your license could even be permanently revoked. You must act within boundaries.”

Despite Kyung-seok’s cautious explanation, Hae Eung Eung latched onto the part she wanted to hear.

‘So, a little killing is fine.’

[Where do guild leaders usually operate?]

“Active leaders often lead field operations in dungeons. Retired veterans from earlier generations work as executives at headquarters or attend meetings with industry stakeholders.”

[Which is easier to target?]

“Field operators are out of reach since they’re inside dungeon gates. Retired executives are easier to approach but still dangerous.”

[Lead me to a place with fewer people where a retired veteran resides.]

Kyung-seok explained that, due to the unique nature of their industry, guild executives from earlier generations were even stronger than current field operatives.

They were tougher opponents in one-on-one combat.

“Many executives at the Myung-ho Guild are second-generation awakened individuals who’ve recently retired. ”

“If you underestimate them based on their age, you’ll pay for it.”

[Please, don’t worry beyond that. I have full confidence in my abilities.]

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen your capabilities firsthand. If you insist on going, you’ll need to convince me with your skills.”

Rolling up his right sleeve, So Kyung-seok revealed his forearm, where a blade resembling a mantis’s foreleg extended outward.

‘She wants me to believe in her abilities… Let’s see what she can do.’

Meeting his serious gaze, Hae Eung Eung widened her stance slightly and rested her hand on her sword hilt. A faint curiosity flickered in her eyes.

‘It’s been a long time since someone’s said that to me.’

As a candidate for the greatest swordswoman in the martial world, Hae Eung Eung had few rivals before her return to this reality.

Back then, only a handful of people dared challenge her, even when her reputation as the Sword Empress soared.

Chiiik

Kyung-seok’s foot scraped the ground as he shifted his weight, focusing it into his toes.

Before his movements could fully manifest, Hae Eung Eung’s sword was already there, intercepting him in an instant.

Ka-kang!

“Are you holding back? Considering the rumors about your slaughter of the Lizardmen, your strength should be far greater than this.”

Despite her provocative words, her body shifted into a defensive posture, muscles coiling inward to prepare for a counterattack.

It was a clever ruse to bait him, but Hae Eung Eung didn’t avoid it. Instead, she faced him head-on, building her momentum.

‘Your speed isn’t bad, but that’s enough playing around. I don’t have more time to spare for this.’

Her mastery of inner energy control, more precise than even mana manipulation, allowed her to gather her power effortlessly.

As her internal energy surged, radiating stability and an overwhelming flow of force, her sword hummed with resonance.

Having regained her second-tier status, Hae Eung Eung unleashed a strike infused with her genuine intent.

Kyung-seok twisted his body at the last moment, narrowly evading her attack.

‘I dodged!’

Now it was his turn. With a confident smile, he prepared to launch a perfect counterattack.

So Kyung-seok braced himself, ready to deliver a perfect counterattack.

Yet, to his shock, Hae Eung Eung remained poised, her sword aimed directly at him, her stance unshaken despite what should have been a disrupted posture.

“What?!”

He froze in panic, unable to comprehend what was happening. Before he could recover, her follow-up attack closed the distance, cutting through his defenses with unnerving precision.

Whhhisssh!

Kyung-seok swung his blade-arm with all his might, desperate to block her strike. But her sword evaded every counter and shot straight toward his neck, leaving him defenseless.

“!!”

Death. The finality of it loomed in his mind, etched by the memory of the impending strike until the blade stopped, mere millimeters from his throat.

“What… was that just now? Isn’t your awakened ability supposed to be strength augmentation?”

[It wasn’t a lie.]

“Then what was that? I clearly saw your attack. I even thought I deflected your counter and followed through with mine!”

Within less than a minute, Kyung-seok was drenched in cold sweat, his energy nearly spent.

Seeing his reaction, Hae Eung Eung answered calmly.

[It was killing intent.]

“Killing intent…?”

[You correctly read my sword path and intentions, and your reaction speed was commendable. ]

[However, you lacked the clarity to distinguish between reality and feints.]

Kyung-seok was left speechless. The mere pressure of her killing intent had been enough to make him feel like he was truly under attack.

“You mean what you showed during the game wasn’t the extent of your abilities?”

[You’ve been researching my records?]

Hae Eung Eung still assumed that when people mentioned her “records,”

they were talking about the automatic registrations she achieved in ghost mode by setting top scores in games.

Kyung-seok hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

‘Ah, she’s referring to her achievements in exploring hidden routes and setting new records.’

Hae Eung Eung offered him a single piece of advice.

[To improve your judgment, refine your senses.]

[Even if your eyes deceive you, your ears won’t. Even if the wind misleads you, your nose should notice the truth.]

Her words were so profound that he couldn’t even gauge the level of mastery from which they came.

Struggling to suppress his mental shock, Kyung-seok tried to internalize her teaching.

[If you work on it, you’ll be able to respond to even the third feint next time.]

Kyung-seok was puzzled.

The first feint had been the disrupted stance.

The second, raising his arm to deflect.

The final strike aimed at his neck had seemed real how could it be a feint?

“That was… unsettling. You’re good at jokes, aren’t you?”

[Did it sound like a joke?]

He couldn’t laugh once he realized that the final strike, which he’d been certain was real, had also been a feint.

‘What kind of ability is this? Sensory manipulation? Perception distortion? But the data from the association’s test results didn’t indicate anything like that…’

Faced with techniques that defied logic and common sense, Kyung-seok concluded that it must be an effect of her awakened ability.

In clinging to such narrow thinking, he unknowingly shut himself off from the insight he might have gained.

“I’ll guide you as promised.”

Unaware of the potential he had just lost, Kyung-seok led Hae Eung Eung toward the residence of one of the Myung-ho Guild’s second-generation awakened veterans.

Their target: Shin Sung-gwak, a retired B-rank awakened individual and a guild executive.

“Once the main tank of Myung-ho Guild’s strongest raid team, he boasted unparalleled defensive power.

Even in retirement, his defenses are stronger than those of the current main tanks.”

Unlike Kyung-seok, who had crumbled under Hae Eung Eung’s relentless feints, Sung-gwak was a formidable veteran of an entirely different caliber.

“Are you sure about this? Killing him would cause a massive uproar.”

[Let’s subdue him first and think about the aftermath later.]

Even as they approached such a powerful adversary, Hae Eung Eung showed not a shred of fear.

The once-timid girl had left her fear buried in the martial world she came from.

Now, if anyone harbored fear, it would be her enemies.